Thursday, 9 August 2012

Both an oath and an affirmation can be a promise. One special kind of promise is the vow.
A notable type of promise is an election promise.

In contract law, a promise is a manifestation of intent to act or refrain from acting in a specified way at some point in the future. It is communicated by one party, to at least one additional party, to signify a commitment has been made. The person manifesting intent is the Promisor. The person to whom the manifestation is addressed is the Promisee. Where performance of the promise is intended to benefit a person other than the Promisee, that person is a third-party beneficiary. In contract law, the word "promise" is used to refer to manifestations of intent resulting in the receiving party reasonably relying on some form of performance in the future. From this promise, a legal duty will arise, the breach of which the Promisee may recover damages or restitution. For example, A orally agrees to sell land to B (an offer). B agrees to buy the land and pays $1000 to A (acceptance of the offer). If the land did not legally belong to A, A fraudulently misrepresented himself to B, which would entitle B to recover his $1000 by virtue of the Theory of Restitution. If the promise is misunderstood or defective, there is no agreement, or the agreement is voidable at the election of one or both parties. An agreement between two parties may consist of two promises, which is referred to as a bilateral contract.

Oath: Individuals that take oaths should be honest and sincere about their statement or goal and be committed to fulfil a specified oath.